Earning Cammie Goode
by Call-Me-Crazy.Cuz I Am
Summary: SEQUEl TO THE ONLY EXCEPTION! Three years after Zach went missing in Afghanistan, Cammie takes Noah and Millie to the mall. And who should she meet? Our favorite green-eyed smirking Zachary Goode! Can they make it work when Zach has been lying and hiding from her? Will Noah and Millie ever get their father back? Will their love overcome the mistrust that has suddenly formed?
1. I Thought You Were Dead

**A.N. Okay, so one thing you need to know about me: I write when I get inspired. If I write a chapter of a story, I will update it when I get an idea for it. And the idea can come the day after of the month after, it just depends. But now, I'm inspired for this sequel, so here it is! **

"Mommy, can we go to the candy store?" Noah said, the eager four year old bouncing up and down in his brown car seat.

"Yeah, Mommy, I needs some sugar!" Millie chimed in.

Cammie sighed. They were united in their course now, and she had no choice unless she wanted them to make this shopping day hell for her. "Um, if you guys are good, I'll take you." She said.

Millie and Noah cheered, and Cammie couldn't restrain the smile that fleeted on her face as she gazed at them through her rear-view. Noah was raven-haired like his father, and he had Cammie's blue eyes. Millie was a stunner even at four, with Cammie's long blonde tresses (hers were pale blonde, not dirty blonde) and Zach's thickly lashed green eyes in her tiny delicate features. Her eyes had been blue at first, but when she was three they turned green-blueer and by four, they were devoutly Irish green.

There was a pang in Cammie's heart as she looked at Millie. She was so much like Zach that it hurt. Though the announcement never officially came, Cammie suspected that he was dead. It'd been four years since he'd left for Afghanistan, and she just couldn't see how he'd survived. But after the twins were asleep and she was forced to face the loneliness, she couldn't help but hope.

"MOMMY!" Millie yelled, startling Cammie out of her thoughts.

"What?" She said, worried. The last time Millie had screamed like that and Cammie had ignored her, Noah had ended up with a broken arm. Yep, this little girl was just like her father.

TIME SKIP!*******************************************

"Mommy, come on!" Millie cried. Cammie laughed as each twin grabbed one of her hands and forcibly pulled her toward Fuzi, the local candy store.

"Hold on, kids," She tried, but they pulled harder. This was a normal part of the routine whenever they went shopping, so Cammie was surprised when Millie suddenly let go.

"You okay, Mil- NO, MILLIE!" She screamed as the little blonde girl took off, weaving through the crowd and almost vanishing.

She scooped Noah up in her arms and ran off after her. Her heart beat fast, and cold sweat slid down her body. Yes, they lived in the middle of suburbia, but Millie was headstrong and curious, and there were predators everywhere.

"MILLIE!" Cammie shrieked, dodging a man in a cashmere coat and dashing after her daughter. "MILLIE!"

"I'm over here, Mommy!" A cheerful voice said. Cammie whirled around and almost fainted when she saw her tiny daughter sitting in a man's lap.

"OH MY GOD, MILLIE OLIVIA GOODE!" Cammie yelled. Scooping her daughter up, she buried her face in her sweet, strawberry scented hair.

"Calm down, Cam," The man said. Cammie completely ignored him.

"Millie, do you have ANY idea AT ALL about what could've happened to you?" She hissed. Tears start falling down her face, and Millie, taking it in and realizing that she was in some serious crap, started sniffling.

"I-I-I s-saw D-d-daddy," Millie whimpered.

"Millie! You were only a month old when your father left! How could you even remember his name, much less what he looked like?" She said despairingly.

"I k-k-knew i-it w-was h-him!" Millie wailed.

"Shh, Millie, " Cammie said. No matter what she did, she hated it when her daughter cried. "It's just…you and Noah are all Mommy has left, and I was so afraid…" And then, with a twin in each arm and tears running down her face, Cammie realized that there was a man looking at her and smirking.

"And what the heck were you thinking? Why were you holding my daughter?" She demanded.

"Hey, Millie just jumped in my lap and threw her arms around me," He defended.

"How do you know her name?" she said suspiciously.

"Well, it couldn't be because you were screaming it." He grinned. "No, it has to be because I picked it out for her,"

"You picked it out for her? What the-" Cammie started. And then she took in the man. Smirk. Raven-colored hair, the same as Noah's. Bright green laughing eyes, just like Millie's. Oh. My. God.

"Zach?" She whispered.

"Hey, Camster," He grinned.

Cammie Goode was not a mean person. Sure, she had a bit of a temper, and she couldn't STAND stereotypical blondes, but she was a kind woman all in all. But in that moment, the kind woman was on vacation as she stared into green eyes. Green eyes that she thought were glassy, dead, lying somewhere in a smoky bullet–ridden plain somewhere in Afghanistan. And she sort of snapped.

And hit Zachary Goode straight in the face.

**A.N. So what did you think of chapter one of the sequel? It was super fun for me to write, so PLEASE review!**


	2. Josh

**A.N. I AM SO SORRY I HAVENT UPDATED!**

Cammie slammed a cup of tea on the table in front of Zach. Steaming drops splattered the oak table.

"Talk." She growled, sitting in the chair across from him, grabbing Noah as he ran past.

"Look, Cammie, I left Afghanistan a year ago." He sighed.

"Wait. So you've been out a year? You've been away a year? YOU HID FROM ME FOR A YEAR?" she said, shaking her head and heaving Millie up on her lap along with Noah.

"Cam, I was scared. The things I saw while I was there…they changed me. And I just didn't know if I could be the father they deserve. Or the husband you needed. It's- it's like when you wake up from a nightmare, and everything you do reminds you of it. I just couldn't deal. I kept telling myself that I'd come back the next month. And I just…never could."

"Mhmm." Cammie said. She nodded her head, but the look in her eyes spelled fury. "You know, I still wear my ring. Everywhere I go, I wear it."

"Cam…"

"I can't sleep at night. I stay up when I know that Noah and Millie can't hear, and I cry. I never got over you. While you were hiding out somewhere, I was working two jobs and trying to coordinate every pre-school performance, every daycare pick-up, every sleaze-bag who tried to flirt and touch me."

"I'm so sorry, Cam-"

"SOME NIGHTS, I HAVE TO STAY UP WITH A GODDANG BASEBALL BAT SO ME AND MY CHILDREN DON'T GET ATTACKED, BECAUSE I HAVE NOBODY TO SCARE THE CREEPERS AWAY." She yelled.

"Cam…"

"I thought you were dead. A man came and told me you got captured, and I thought you were_ dead._" She whispered brokenly. "You were my only exception. I loved you. I still do. But you left."

"I love you too," He said, leaning forward.

"Why were you at the mall today, Zach?" She said, shaking her head. She didn't want to let him in again, to let herself live a lie any longer.

"I…I heard that you still lived here. I was…trying to get back to you." Zach said.

Cammie's heart melted, and she almost forgave him.

But then he, ever so slightly, squirmed.

And his pupils dilated just a little bit.

And she knew, she _knew_ that he was lying to her.

Again.

A knock came on the door.

"I'll get it," She growled, hoisting herself, Noah, and Millie up.

"I can take the twins-" He started.

"No. I…I don't want you touching them. " She said, shaking her head so that the smell of her shampoo wafted over him.

"Cam, they're mine, too," He said, standing up.

"Really? Then where were you the past three years?" She stared at him. Shaking her head again, she stalked towards the door.

Opening it, she smiled. "Hey, Josh."

"Hey, Cammie," Josh smiled. "I'm ready to work on the roof, if you are."

"Yeah, now's fine. Did you bring Bella with you?" She said, leaning against the doorframe.

A somber little girl with ebony hair and shockingly pale skin, lit by her practically luminescent brown eyes peeked out from behind Josh's legs.

"Who the hell is this?" Zach said, raising an eyebrow and appearing at the door.

"That's Bella Abrahms. And this is her father, Josh. He comes over and helps me with the housework. Fixes my roof, mows my lawn, all the stuff I don't have a man to do." She glared. "Josh, this is Zach."

Josh's blue eyes widened. "_Zach?_ I thought he was dead?"

"Yeah," Cammie sighed, running her hands through her hair. "So did I."

"Where's her mother?" Zach said bluntly, crossing his arms.

"Zach!" Cammie cried. Turning to Josh, she blushed. "I am so sorry, Josh-"

"It's okay, Cam." Zach's other eyebrow lifted. _Cam?_ Cam was his nickname. _His. _

Josh turned to Zach. "She died. About three weeks after Bella was born."

"Oh."

"Don't be sorry. I help Cam with the yard work, she helps me with the whole 'mothering thing'." Josh grinned.

"Oh, I dunno, Josh," Cammie smiled. "You do pretty good on your own,"

She glanced at Zach, and then, as if she was making a decision, leaned forward and kissed Josh's cheek. "C'mon, I'll show you where it's leaking."

Zach felt his initial dislike of Josh curdle and turn to hate as he stumbled after her.

His cheeks were candy apple red, and his hair curled just a little bit more as Cammie pointed out the leaky spots, complete with smiles and hip swaying.

_Well,_ Zach thought. _Earning her back is going to be harder than I thought. _


	3. Heartless and Hopeless

**A.N. Merry Christmas! **

"So, Josh." Zach said flatly. "I didn't think he was your type."

"He's nice and he likes Noah and Millie and he doesn't leave me. That's all I can ask for." Cammie slammed the refrigerator door closed and headed towards the nursery, hoping that Zach wouldn't follow her.

"So, you two are together, then?" Zach bounded after her, keeping pace with her fast strides.

"No. Yes." Cammie leaned against the doorway. "I don't know, but I'm exhausted."

"MOMMY! GUESS WHAT NOAH AND BELLA ARE DOING!" Millie screamed from within the room. "IT'S BAD!"

"How bad, baby?" Cammie called back.

"ARE WE ALLOWED TO PLAY DOCTORS' EXAMINATION?"

Cammie paled.

O_O_O_O_O

"Thanks again for fixing the roof, Josh," Cammie smiled tiredly as she and Josh walked down her driveway. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Thanks for watching Bells." Josh smiled down at the sleepy little girl in his arms. "She really likes you."

"She likes Noah more." Cammie chuckled. "I bet you ten bucks they'll fall in love when they're older."

"I'll take that bet, even though I actually agree with you." Josh shifted Bella in his arms. "Are you okay, Cammie? With Zach being back and everything?"

"No." Cammie sighed. "I'm really not. I feel really bad, since he is Noah and Millie's dad, but I just don't trust him anymore. You know, he told me that he came to the mall looking for me, but….I could tell he was lying, you know? And I just wish he'd be upfront and honest about it."

"I see what you mean." Josh nodded. "I remember that before Katherine died, she'd always disappear for days, looking for some new high or adrenaline rush. And when I looked for her and couldn't find her…especially when Bella was really little….I just couldn't understand how she could leave her little girl like that. I couldn't even imagine doing it."

"Yeah, well, Bella's turning out pretty well, even without Katherine. And excuse me, but I think Katherine was a little bit of a bitch."

Josh smiled. "Oh, she was."

"That's a nice way to speak of your dead wife," Zach's voice appeared out of nowhere, making Cammie jump and Josh swear.

"Please, Zach, just go away." Cammie said tightly, recognizing in Josh's clenched fists that a fight was about to break out.

"I'm good, thanks." Zach leaned against Cammie's SUV. "No, I want to know why Jimmy over there seems to hate his wife."

"Zach-"

"I don't hate Katherine." Josh says quietly. "She was a crack addict and an alcoholic and she could be very, very, very selfish at times. But I loved her then and I love her now. She gave me Bella and she gave me an opportunity to be a friend to Cam when you left her."

"Shut up." Zach's voice was calm and deadly. "This instant."

"No. I won't, because I know how it feels to be left. Only, Katherine was high on drugs and could barely remember her middle name when she left me. You? You were in possession of your right mind. You knew you had a family to come back to. You knew you had Cam. So where were you, Zach? When she needed you, where were you?"

"That's none of your concern. In fact, none of this is any of your concern, so why are you involved?"

"Because Cammie's my friend!"

"A friend who you'd like to sleep with!" Zach hissed. "You're not very good at hiding your emotions, are you, Jimmy?"

Cammie saw it coming before Zach did. When Josh shoved Bella into her arms, she tried to reason, but she knew it would be futile. Josh's fist flew through the air with all the force of an angry, hurt man behind it.

The window of Cammie's SUV shattered as Zach's head rammed into it.


End file.
